Sawk Tawk

I am madly knitting along on the second Bamboo Sock and according to my calculations, I will complete it tomorrow.

See, on the first sock, I knit 99 rounds for the leg after turning the heel. I am currently on Round 80. I am averaging 26 rounds per day on my commute (to and from work), and I have 19 rounds rounds left for tomorrow. Piece of cake. (Mmmmmmmm, cake!)

Did you see what I did there? Math. Please hold your applause.

I almost always count my rounds when making socks. I facilitate this by attaching a row counter (via an 0ld stitch holder) to my sock in progress.

When I knit socks for myself, I know that to get the foot the proper length I need to work 56 rounds after completing the toe before I start the gusset increases. Then, after the heel turn I keep track of how many rounds I knit for the leg, so that my second sock will match exactly.

Now, if I am making a sock with easy-to-count pattern repeats, I don’t bother with the stitch counter.

Speaking of socks, there is a fabulous, comprehensive entry on short rows over on the TECHknitting blog, here.

Speaking of socks, I have jumped the gun and written up the pattern for the Bamboo Socks. It is a pdf download, here. It is also linked to from my Free Patterns page.

And now for something completely different. A photo of part of my desk at work.

The following important items are present in this photo (and easier to see if you click on the photo to enlarge it, if you really care):

a plastic hair clip

a rearview mirror

birth announcement for my brother’s grandson

photos of Lucy

headphones

my Stitch-a-Day calendar

the label from a skein of Alchemy Juniper

the list of Wollmeise colorways that I own

a post-it note with my Mega Millions lottery numbers on it

a letter from the Professional Hockey Players’ Association that I just responded to but am too lazy to file away

Hi Wendy, I think your desk is an example of a Clean desk….well a lot cleaner than mine…. A girl’s gotta have the esentials at work…. ;o)

One Question. Is the yarn you are using to knit your bamboo socks made from bamboo? I am always afraid to try different yarns other than wool yarn to knit socks with. Do you feel that bamboo yarn makes good socks?
Celestine…..

I almost always count my rounds or pattern repeats on socks too. When I’m making them for me, I don’t make notes anymore because I generally do the same number of rows. When I knit them for others (very rarely), I keep notes so that both socks match. I’ve learned to write it down even though I think I’ll remember.
.-= southparknitter´s last blog ..This weasel won’t pop =-.

I tried, but I couldn’t zoom in far enough to read the Wollmeise list. 🙂 I am very impressed with your mad math skilz, but did you realize that your March 8, 2007 entry was also entitled Sawk Tawk? (Just resuming my Junior Stalker duties . . .)

Impressive – you can actually see the surface of your desk. Mine is currently covered with paper, paper, and – oh yeah – a little more paper. 🙂 I’m thinking it would make you a little twitchy!
.-= Cindy K´s last blog ..Finally Fall! =-.

Good morning Wendy,
First, I want to thank you for “steering” me to trying toe-up socks. I have finished YOUR Double Eyelet Rib socks, and posted them to my blog. They fit perfectly, and it was so much easier than I could have imagined. Thank you also, for designing your socks without the short-row heel.

Thank you again for the new pattern of Bamboo Socks. I really like the thick and thin ribs done together like that. Great idea I had not yet thought of. 🙂

I hope that you and Lucy have a wonderful weekend at home together. I’m sure that flying around the country can get tiresome.

OK, you’re just gonna have to shed some light on the hockey letter for us! Perhaps a request for you to make socks for the entire team?:-)

Three cheers for staying home over the weekend! I’m just back from a whirlwind DC trip and some downtime sounds sooo good to me! Lucy has this rest and relaxation thing down pat.
.-= Michele In Maine´s last blog ..Red and White Project Bag Set =-.

So is the three-column note on the bottom of the monitor your Wollmeise list? I’m envious.

Personally, I have a book and I tick off every row I do for every pattern so I know where I am and where I’ve been. It’s also helpful when I deviate from a pattern so that I can keep it consistent for the second sock (which inevitably follows after a lag period).

I’m just pass the base of my big toe on knitting my first ever sock and now I’m thinking – count the rows??? Was I supposed to be doing that? I’m just glad I can navigate from one row to the next (two circulars take some getting used to) and that I haven’t dropped a stitch. (The sock is to your Lacy Rib pattern and I can’t believe I’m actually knitting it. I can’t believe I’m actually going to have to knit another one either! It’s all high drama around here. In another inch or two I’ll start making gusset increases. Not afraid of that. Worried about what comes after that!)

OK…why would a knitter be getting a letter from the professional hockey players association? Could it be they want you to transform a couple of hockey sticks into a couple of big knitting needles? The poor babies are cold on the ice and want you to knit them some special Wendy Knits socks to warm their toes? They want to teach the fellas how to knit to mellow them out a bit so there are fewer brawls on the ice? I guess there are all kinds of potential reasons for the letter from the puck handlers.

how wonderful that counting rounds works for you. though my favorite way to knit socks continues to be dpns, i have become a magic loop convert because my gauge is so variable. humidity, stress, wine, too many cats in lap…i would count rounds and have two different sized socks about half the time! thanks for a new sock idea!

2018 Completed Work

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